Dart construction



Feb. 1969 R. KESTENBAUM DART CONSTRUCTION Filed June 23, 1966 I! I I'1!!! v United States Patent 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Animproved hand propelled dart projectile including a hollow longitudinalshaft, a synthetic resinous flight element including a second hollowshaft formed on the outer surface of said first shaft as a result ofinsert molding, a weighted nose element including a rearwardly facingsocket including a threaded portion and anunthreaded portion, a solidmetallic rod serving as a reinforcement and having a flattened endinserted within said first shaft at a forward end thereof, said shaftand nose element being threadedly engageable, in wlhich position thefiattened end is maintained within the unthreaded portion of the socket,wherebythe rigidity of the first shaft at with improved durability.

This invention relates generally to the field of dart projectiles andmore particularly to an improved con struction capable of production atreduced cost, and with improved durability.

In projectiles of the above mentioned type the flight element, includinga plurality of vanes is usually formed as a separate molding, and isinstalled upon a metal hollow shaft, being held in position by a plugforcibly driven into the rear of the tubular shaft. The shaft is hollow,and is threadedly engaged with a weighted head.

During continued use, there has been a tendency for the hollow shaft tobend, particularly when the device strikes a hard object, such asconcrete slabs or the like. Further, because the flight is formed as aseparate unit, with passage of time the same has a tendency to loosen onthe shaft, and slide relative to it.

It is therefore among the principal objects of the present invention toprovide an improved projectile of the class described, in which theabove mentioned dis.- advantages have been substantially eliminated.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of an improvedprojectile, in which the hollow shank thereof has been reinforced by theinsertion of a solid shaft concentrically arranged therewith, wherebythe shaft is properly reinforced without substantial transfer of themass center which is desirably maintained in a forward position.

Yet another object of the invention lies in the provision of an improvedprojectile of the class described in which the flight may be insertmolded upon the tubular shaft to permanently fix the relative positionsthereof.

Still another object of the invention lies 'in the provision of animproved projectile possessed of the above advantages, in whidh the costof fabrication may be of a reasonably low order, with consequent widesale, distribution and use.

These objects, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, willmore fully appear in the progress of 3,425,695 Patented Feb. 4, 1969"Ice the following disclosure, and be pointed out in the appendedclaims.

'In the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification,similar reference characters have been employed to designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE 1 is an exploded view in section of an embodiment of theinvention.

FIGURE 2 is an assembled sectional view thereof.

In accordance with the invention, the device, generally indicated byreference character 10, comprises broadly: a nose element 11, a shaftelement 12 and. a tail element 13.

The nose element '11 includes a pointed member 15, the rear end 16 ofwhich is threadedly or forcibly fitted into a socket 17 in a weightedmember 18. The rear portion of the member 18 is provided with a threadedsocket 20 for engaging the shaft element 12.

The shaft element 12 includes a hollow elongated shaft 23, preferablyformed from aluminum alloy, and having a threaded forward end 24 and :atail end 25. Inserted into the head end 24, and extending rearwardly adistance of several inches is an auxiliary solid steel shaft 26, thehead end 27 of which is flattened or otherwise distorted to prevent thesame from slipping too far inwandly during extended use. As best seen inFIGURE 2, the shaft 26 provides reinforcement to the hollow shaft 23 inthe area immediately rearwardly of the weighted member 18, where thesame is most subject to bending stresses should the pointed member 15contact a hard surface angularly disposed with respect to its ownprincipal axis.

The tail element or flight 13, as has been mentioned, is insert moldeddirectly upon the outer surface of the shaft 23, and accordinglyrequires no other means for interconnection. It includes a shaftenclosing portion 31 extending from a forward terminal 32 immediatelyrearwardly of the weighted member .18, as well as a rear terminal 33which surrounds the end 28 of the shaft 23. Extending radially from theouter surface 34 thereof are a plurality of vanes 35, 36 and 37 whichare integrally molded therewith.

Assembly of the device, after the above described molding is performed,requires only the insertion of the steel shaft 26 within the shaft 23,and the threaded engagement of the end 24 with the socket 17 in the'weighted' member 18. While the insert molding operation preventsremoval of the flight from the shaft 23, should any of the vanes becomedamaged, the additional rigidity and strength obtained by such integralconstruction more than compensates by increased longevity obtainedthereby.

I wish it to be understood that I do not consider the invention limitedto the precise details of structure shown and set forth in thisspecification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled inthe art to which the invention pertains.

I claim:

1. In a projectile, a first hollow metallic shaft threaded at one endthereof, a flight element including a second hollow shaft portion and aplurality of radially extending vanes surrounding said first hollowshaft as a result of insert molding thereon, said second hollow shafthaving a rear terminal enclosing an open end of said first shaft; aweighted nose element including a pointed memher extending outwardlythereof, and having an axially arranged socket therein on a side thereofopposite said pointed member, a portion of said socket being threaded toengage the threaded end of said first shaft, and an unthreaded portionadjacent thereto; an elongated solid metallic shaft of diametercorresponding to that of the internal diameter of said first shaft, andhaving a flattened end thereon of width greater than said diameter, saidsolid shaft being positioned within said threaded end of said firstshaft, wherein said flattened end is maintained within the unthreadedportion of said socket, to prevent relative movement between said solidshaft and the bore of said first shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1916 Walter 273-68 7/1937MacC-allum 27380.7 6/1959 Meyer 273-1065 1/ 1961 Carlson 273--72 3/1961Barnett 273-1065 8/1966 Spier 272-59 X 10 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, PrimaryExaminer.

PAUL E. SHAPIRO, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

